Apartments in waimea hawaii

Long story short I've been at my apartment for 4 years now and will be renewing my lease in June. Landlord raises rent $100 every time I renew my lease and raised it $100 mid lease when I had a room mate move in. is this normal?
Rent started at $1100 when I moved in 2018 and I am currently paying $1600 a month and was adviced it would go up to $1750(an extra $150) when I renew in June. (It's 2 bed 1 bath and I also rent a garage bay from him separately that's connected to the apartment for an extra $450 a month(that's not included in the $1600 I pay a month), that rent only goes up $25 a year) it's a 2 apartment 1 business 1 garage bay building. I have friends who live in apartment complex's who only have rent increases every few years by $50-75 which l've been told is normal but every year is not ok or normal? Is my landlord just trying to screw me over? The apartment I had before this I lived in for 3 years and had my rent increased $50 the last year I was there and that was it.
You guys as landlords do you think there's a way to negotiate or deny the rental increase in a respectful way? I give him my rent in person a week early every month (never been late not even once). Never broke any of his rules, always been a good tenant. I feel like if he keeps increasing rent like this that he should at least update some things? The apartment has appliances from mid-late 2000's the fridge sounds like a jet engine but because it works he legally doesn't need to replace it. The caulking seems in the shower are falling apart "but it doesn't leak so it's fine"
I'm not really sure what l'm even asking here l'm just trying to get opinions from other landlords about if raising rent every year is normal, everyone in my family thinks I'm being taken advantage of.
Also to mention When I first moved in he was very strict about "must make 3 times the rent to live here" I've had the same job since and at the time I did make 3x but I don't get many raises and when I do it's only .10 at a time, I no longer make 3x the rent so does that mean I no longer qualify to live here? (3x rent when I moved in was $3300 and I made $3700/m. I now make $3980 a month and 3x rent is $4800 now) What are y'all thoughts?

I just wanna vent what's going in my mind in brief and it's okay if you skip through this.
PS: It's a long one so I apologise for that.
To start this let's go four years back into the past in 2019. Back then I was suffering from a chronic depression since two years (2017). There was no hope of me recovering and I didn't know how it feels to be in your brain at all as I never experienced it at it fullest. The worst year was 2018; that had me completely out of my mind staying numb and crying frequently in loneliness due to not being able to figure out what to do about myself. I was completely lost. I used to be very childish and immature as I didn't know how to process my own and others' feelings (intense brain fog). I didn't know the difference between right and wrong. I used to try my hardest to stay happy but that usually used to go in vain. I had nothing to hook up to in order to slow down or break my fall into the void.
But then in March 2019 the tables started to turn. Things started to take a turn and I started feeling like this might be the end of my sufferings as I started to feel a puny bit calm. For context I used to stay with a group of classmates in college that were slightly below average in everything; studies, maturity, soft skills etc. In April I developed a friendship with a classmate that belonged to a rather decent group which was absolutely brilliant in soft skills as well as confidence and quite decent in academic activities. I started to feel the change in myself; not to a great extent but enough to feel that the things were turning around.
I started sharing seats with that friend and eventually developed embryonic friendships with the others in the group. There was this friend who was exceptionally brilliant in being himself; I would describe him as wholehearted. Used to do random stuff and everyone found it hilarious as he used to enjoy it so much. Oneday he randomly shared a seat with me. Took a paper and a pen and started writing a poem. He wrote the first line, and then handed the pen and paper to me to continue to the next line. THAT was the moment I felt his energy getting magically transferred into me and I suddenly felt me being myself FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MY LIFE. I wrote the next line which he found hilarious. And we continued and finished the poem for the rest of the lecture. That was an absolute masterpiece I wish I had it today.
Days passed by like this and I kept feeling better and better. My confidence slowly but steadily started elevating until it skyrocketed and my brain fog kept fading until it was completely gone, resulting in me breaking free from my long, intense and chromic depression. That year was the best one in my life and I felt like the king of my world. I could do whatever I want with my free will, I didn't hold the negatives at all, even if I did it was a few minutes maximum and I'd completely forget about it after that. My charm was so high that I made friends that I never thought I'd ever make. Everyone loved being with me due to the way I was. Never judged anyone and allowed them to be themselves around me, goofed around with the goofiness, used to listen wholeheartedly if they had something to share, etc. The list goes on. My brain was super efficient during that period of time. Got a problem? I got the solution. That was the peak satisfaction of my life. Man I loved those days and I miss them fondly.
Everything was going great and then oh boy here comes the year which we all remember as the the world turning upside down; the iconic 2020. All was going great until February and then a stupid bat turned it all around. The government imposed lockdown all over the country. No one was allowed to step outside and that's when I started going insane, again. April to June was the worst of me at that time. The frustration, aggression started to eat me alive. Nothing was helping. Nothing was there for me to do in order to get some refreshments.
Then in July I discovered the game of the year 2020; Among Us. I told my friend that lives in my neighborhood to try it out and play together. He love it too. I told him to gather his friends and play together (I lost contact with most of my friends due to the insanity kicking in). I made a discord server and invited all his friends in it. Luckily I still possessed my leadership and communication skills at that time and was able to pull it off. We had a great time playing in the groups as well as randoms. That was one of the best times in 2020 for me. There was this girl in the group with whom I developed a really good friendship. We matched the vibes and used to talk and play together even if there was no one to play with.
As the days passed we decided to go for cycling every morning. Everyone used to join including this girl. We developed the the friendship even stronger. Kinda developed a crush on her. One day I was randomly flirting with her and asked her out jokingly. Surprisingly she was into it. She said yes and after me confronting her properly I found that she had a crush on me too. So we engaged in a relationship.
That was my first relationship and had zero experience in this field. I was a teenager and had quite raging hormones. One day she called me over to her place as her parents regularly go out for work so we had a decent time together. And that was the time I had my first kiss. We took it steady and started digging deeper as the days passed by until one day I lost my virginity.
As my hormones kicked in I started doing everything in the relationship that I absolutely hated while I was single. I started ignoring my friends for her, started separating out while we went for rides, didn't listen to my friends, developed arrogance towards them, etc. I started losing my sense of decision making and started doing stuff according to my dick rather than using my brain. I oversaw all the red flags she used to display and all the warnings give to me by my friends (props to them for being by my side and still not giving up on me).
Everything was going good until February 2021. One day her mom went through her phone and found out about us. We live in a very conservative country so she obviously wasn't happy about our relationship. I got a decoy text from her flirting with me which was actually her mom behind the scenes. When I got texts I kinda smelled what was cooking but decided to ignore it anyways. My dumb ass responded to that "flirting" and then I got a call from her (at 10 pm). It was her mom. She was really angry and started yelling at me while beating the shit out of her daughter in the background. Said a lot of awful stuff about my dad as well as my family background.
I won't go into much detail for this as this is a whole different story. But let me mention that things went so south that she tried to cheat on me with my best friend, used to flirt with random guys and call it normal, never used to listen to me and forced her opinions on me. Things took such a bad turn that even her best friend of five years chose to stay on my side after my ex called it quits with her friend brutally.
I had just entered the university when all this was happening. Everyone was meeting new people and making memorable friendships and here I was fighting for my relationship as well as myself. I had completely lost all of my skills and confidence by this point, again. It felt like someone took me and just grinded my soul brutally on a sharp cheese grater. I was more than dead inside. And just as lost as four years ago. Everything was online at that time and every communication was done through chats. I lost my ability to talk to people which led me to isolate from my new colleagues. I tried my hardest to talk but I just couldn't. I was falling apart. I who once was a scorer in the academics as well as a decent communicator, was failing to keep up with the academic stuff and just stared into the oblivion helplessly while others were making friends. For one year I had basically given up on the academics and social interaction.
After some time offline classes started. I started going to the college. Saw everyone talking to each other and just wondering how do they do it. I was again completely lost. By the time everything started physically, there were already well defined groups and friendships formed and I felt left out very badly. I had no one to talk to. And my mental health started getting worse. And I still struggle to this day to get myself where I used to be and I'm not able to see any way out of this as of now.
I don't want to bother anyone here with my problems and rants. I just want to be told and known that what I feel and what I'm going through is valid and I can do it one day. Any similar stories of you are more than welcome if you think that they would give me motivation and inspiration to overcome my brain one more time.
If you made it this far I wholeheartedly thank you for going through my long story and understanding it.
Thank you :)

I have read about the WBS (Wohnungsberechtigungsschein) and was considering applying. But I was wondering:

• Are you only allowed to live in WBS-sponsored apartments?
• If you apply for an apartment that doesn't require it, do you still have to specify that you have it?
• Does your employer have to know about it?
• Does it affect your credit score (Schufa)?
• Is there anything important, whether that be plus or negative points, to know about it?

Thanks a lot :)

I can't seem to find an answer about this anywhere. I accidently left it out for like, over 12 hours now, but it's been next to a window in my drafty apartment so it hasn't been super warm or anything.

[HELP] Hello there. I'm wanting to get a NAS, and I'm looking at getting a Synology 923+ with 2 WD Red Pro drives in maybe the 10-14TB capacity range (leaving the other slots for future expansion if I ever need it. This is likely overkill for me, as realistically, I'm wanting to store my music collection of a few TB, a few TB of photos, and have space for a small business I'm planning on starting (likely some graphics files), but possibly a SQL database. I'm wanting to set it up in the extra room of our apartment, which doubles as an office/guest room. I'm a bit concerned about the noise, but I'm assuming I can either shut the NAS down if we have a guest over, or that I can enable some low-poweidle mode for when it's not in use. Does this sound problematic to you from your experience? I haven't had a NAS before, so don't have really anything to base it on (I did have a first generation Drobo). Any help or advice would be appreciate. Thank-you, Chris
from NAScompares.com - Data Storage Blog

Hi, I'm completely new to DnD 5e. Just recently I got invited to play with a couple of guys. So far so great. (All of them knew that I am a completely fresh, nooby player.) After a few weeks, I started to get really invested into the hobby. Reading lore, rules, buying different books to further enhance my knowledge and experience. (Also trying to improve my RP as a player etc.)
After recognizing a couple of official rules (RAW was it?), that were very different to the rules I got taught (past tense from 'to teach', sorry not a native speaker here, not sure if I got it right 😅). So I asked my DM about it. Well...I got a 9 min speech about why he won't discuss rules with me. (Was about exp ruling in our group. We had a completely different system, as the 2 described in the PHB)
A little bit shocked, I tried to calm the storm, with success.
A few weeks later I stumbled across another different ruling, reagarding movement and overall rules regarding movement in combat, cover and stuff like that. Directly thought of our rules as homebrew. Transscipted (?) the official rules into our system and asked my dm if it was alright or if I missed something. Immediately got a pissed answer about how he has no nerves to discuss rules everytime and that he just wanting to have fun in the game. (He got in an argument with another player, also a new one (but with 20 years more experience into PnP), about some rulings)
Now...a part of me wants to leave the group and a part of me wants to stay regardless, because I do like some of the other players and don't want to ruin the game for them with my leave. (Because the more experience player would most likely leave with me, thus my leave would break the group apart)
How should I fare? Maybe some of you were in a similar position, and could give me some sort of advice.

Looking for a bit of advice on certifications/skills to work on and try and level up.
A bit of context, 38 and living in the UK. Been a help desk/sys admin for 11 years for a small company, working on desktops, servers, phone systems, firewalls, networking/Wireless and hosting (DNS/Domain Mgmt/Debian VPSs) and starting to work on cyber essentials plus with customers and internally. (team of 5, 2nd most senior in terms of responsibility, only my manager above me) and spent 7 years prior to that fixing PCs/Laptops. Have a foundation degree in IT (first 2 years of a BSC) but that was achieved 10 years ago. Last year, achieved ISC2 CC, but don't hold any other certs apart from a few vendor specific ones. (3CX/Duo) I was thinking of heading in the cyber security direction and looking at ISC2 SSCP (as I shouldn't have a problem with the requirements and already a member with ISC2)
Trying to move on as my work/life balance has always been tilted in the direction of work and I know want a life back. On call is killing me (10 years of every 3rd week, working about 8 hours extra a week, without any calls) I understand that the best time to do most of my work is out of office hours, but days can usually be spent work, eat dinner, work and then bed. Current workplace is bumbling along at the moment, but I have days where I feel like I'm not actually doing anything. MD is old school and at retirement age, so nothing really is gonna change unless the company is sold or dissolved. Also I have to give 3 months notice, which I know will be a pain in having to info dump and train my replacement, but that's a bridge to cross when I come to it.
Should I be looking at more Net/Sec+ or anything else? I don't have a define role in CyberSec in mind, but something with applying logic and problem solving to see how systems have been breached works with how my brain is wired (I know in most cases it is users that open the doors, or has been in my experience) I expect A+ would be pointless given the experience I already have.

hello everyone! we are gonna be in porter apartments, and are looking for 1 more roommate with priority enrollment. pls be LGBT friendly and🍃 friendly! we already have 3 guys, 1 nb and 1 girl. dm me if you are interested

Ok, so I don’t know where to really turn on something and I need some advice so a friend recommended this as an option. I’ll do my best to keep what I type relevant, but I'm stressed so sorry if I ramble. Also TLDR version at the bottom.
I live in Illinois and have been in the same apartment building for 15+ years. Because of this I’ve known the building ownelandlord (I’ll refer to him as ‘BC’ to make it short) well for a while now and he’s very affordable with rent compared to how things have ballooned in recent years. A few months ago he dropped by some paperwork with an “updated lease” and mentioned a building inspection coming up in a few weeks. I figured, since it had been a while since our last building inspection, that it was likely official and to clean well/make sure outlets are unobstructed for them to check.
I have been on a “month to month” lease for years now because he knows I’m good for rent and I’ve been here forever. This updated lease was for the next few months ending May 1st this year (the inspection took place in like January) so I assumed it was him trying to just make things more official-ish since he has never really been too “by-the-book”, so I signed it not thinking much else of it. I had however lost my job months before and have had to really struggle to make ends meet, but because of the non-absurd rent prices I’ve been able to keep up on all my bills without TONS of stress.
The inspection day comes and it’s a lady probably mid/late 40’s, Indian and very sweet, along with two men around the same age and background as her. They walked in, had no clipboards or papers, and started taking random pictures of the ceiling and other spots seemingly at random while whispering to each other. It was immediately apparent this wasn’t an official building inspection, but people looking to buy the property from BC. They finish up in a matter of minutes, and move onto the next apartment. BC at this time owned, that I know of, 5 apartment buildings in this close area around me and including mine. I hadn’t signed the updated lease when they got to the door so BC came back after the inspection to pick it up, and we chat for a second. He admits “I didn’t even have any properties listed for sale, wasn’t looking to sell, they approached me out of nowhere. I guess we’ll see what they offer and what the banks all say and go from there”. I signed the lease and as soon as he leaves I get this sinking feeling in my stomach that something bad is going to happen.
Fast forward a few weeks to February 28th, we all get knocks on our doors from the new building maintenance guy that the sale went through and that a new realty group had purchased the 5 buildings BC had owned, and that all rent going forward will go to them, with their appropriate mailing addresses and emails for digital payment options. That’s all the papers stated, new owners, “we look forward to working with you and appreciate your continued support and cooperation”, and to make payments to them from now on.
I’m still looking for a job, stressing out about that, but it’s manageable at least. Then March 20th happens. I get a knock on my door from the same building maintenance guy with a piece of paper stating that they are doubling the cost of my rent starting on the new lease date - which for me is May 1st or 42 days from the time of me receiving notice. Additionally, they want to know by March 31st, 11 days from then, if I plan on renewing a lease with them or moving out. I slept maybe two hours the next three days/72 hours, I was in a constant state of panic wondering what the hell I am going to do. It’s been difficult getting any attention while applying for jobs, and I have two cats. I’m wondering how I am going to feed them? How will I keep them and make sure they’re safe? They’re all I really have that helps keep me from really just feeling completely alone most of the time, and here I am immediately wondering if I’m going to be homeless or what. I wasn’t eating or sleeping and still have been in basically a constant state of panic since March 20th when that happened.
That day I went out of my way to talk to my neighbors and they hadn’t received the same notice, but their lease isn’t up until 2 months later than mine, and when they spoke to others in the building everyone else seems to have theirs ending in June-Aug, so I’m assuming they will be getting the notice shortly before the new lease. I also safely came to the conclusion that this realty group went around the area looking for places with lower rent so they could make an offer to the owner, swoop in, and increase the rent for an easy payday on the backs of lowelower middle class families in the area. My neighbor also dug a little and found info that this realty group has bought up a lot of properties in recent years, possibly doing the same thing. Also, from the neighbors I’ve talked to we all had very similar rent rates under BC, so it wasn’t just me getting some deal because I’d been here a long while.
I’ve gone online to look up options I can take and, although I don’t know if this is concrete and the law, it appears Illinois has:

1. A law where you need to give 60 days notice before raising rent costs to someone, which I was given 41, and
   
2. No laws protecting renters from HOW MUCH rent can be raised, so getting a 100% rent price increase doesn’t matter in this state
   

I don’t know what to do. I’ve been listing things I have to sell to try and downsize, make money, and maybe clear space for a random roommate, but I’ve been panicking constantly because of this, and I don’t know what options I have. Is there any action I can take against them for giving me such a short timespan that isn’t within the state laws for a change to occur? Any help or direction or anything at all is greatly appreciated, or if you know someone who specializes in this type of situation I’ll listen to what’s out there.
TLDR version: some (possibly scummy) realty group swooped in and bought the buildings I and many lowemid lower level income people have lived in for a while now, and are doubling our rent. I was only given 41 days notice of this taking place and from what I’ve seen that’s against IL state laws. Any direction, ideas, or advice?

Before you rip me apart, I looked at the pinned post and scanned through the guide on GitHub. Previously, my instance was set to “highly available” with 2 VCPUs at 8GB and 100GB SSD. I have since turned “highly available” off and have went with the cheapest computing option, 1 VCPU at 3.75GB.
Even if I had some options selected that may slightly raise the cost, I’m completely lost as to how I racked up $150 in literally a week. I haven’t even been able to connect to the database yet, like WTF.
What should I do? And running at the lowest options possible, what should I be paying (if anything) on a monthly basis for MySQL on GCP?

This would of been an easy question for me if we were in a long relationship but we have been first seeing for about 5 months and then in relationship for 2 months now. She got pregnant and I am very happy about that. I love her and want to be with her. We don't live together yet and thats making this hard.
I want to help her to relax and take burden off of her. She is stressing all the time about everything possible and all I want to do is give her massage or make her dinner. She refuses saying that she wants to just be alone. We see once or twice a week and this is creating a huge gap between us. It feels like I am in a long-distance relationship. She says she doesn't want to be touched and im fine with that. Last time when I was at her place I sat in distance first until she asked me to come closer. She also says she is sad that she will have to move out of her home (she lives on rent, I own row house apartment). So I understand and give her space.
But how much space is too much? It doesn't even feel like relationship anymore. All I want is to support her and just be with her because it starts to feel really lonely. Also its really scary since this is pretty new relationship so im afraid if we don't see each other the feelings may fade away for either of us.
My main issue here is what should I do? This is becoming a problem and we are even starting to argue about this which I don't want because I want to help her with stress, not add more. Do I just let her be alone with her problems or is there a way I can show her that I really care and understand her and all I want is to ease the burden? I feel lost since I can't even talk about this with anyone because we are not telling about pregnancy yet. I was hoping I can ask here and maybe understand her more. It feels like the main issue is that I don't understand something and she doesn't know how to explain it.

Fans of classic soul will know the song.
Oh, Jimmy Mack, when are you coming back?
In another world it would be funny, but for years I asked that very question.
You see, my fiancé’s name is Jimmy Mack. He disappeared without a trace in 2018.
How do you disappear without a trace these days? It just doesn’t seem possible in a modern world, where almost everyone is somehow connected. Yet he did; he vanished. The police were baffled, private investigators were a waste of money, and my own attempts at sleuthing were futile.
If it wasn’t for the fact that we were ridiculously in love and things were so perfect, I wouldn’t have tried so hard. But everything was a vomit inducing fairytale for us. Even our names were cute af; Jimmy & Jessie sittin’ in a tree… I know he loved me as much as I loved him, and he would have done anything for me.
I heard all the theories. ‘Jess… Maybe he has a secret family… He might have been involved with criminals… Perhaps he took his own life…’
They didn’t know Jimmy like I did. I know you can never really know someone fully, but I knew those things could never be true of him. So I became estranged from family and friends, my life consumed with finding Jimmy. Every penny was spent on expensive investigation and cheap booze.
But then came the intervention. My mom, brother, and best friend Lori came to my apartment one evening. Mom took my hands.
“I want my daughter back,” she cried. And as I met the eyes of those closest to me it was like a weight had lifted. I dropped to the floor and cried for hours, releasing years of internal pain. It was exactly what I needed.
It wasn’t that I never thought of Jimmy again, but I began to move on. I even went on a couple of dates, and attended therapy sessions. There’s a whole psychology behind mourning an unexplained loss. I found it all very helpful.
Then I received a handwritten letter:
Dear Jessie,
You don’t know me but I have information about the disappearance of your fiancé James Mack in March 2018.
If you are interested in finding out more, meet me at Marcy’s Diner off [redacted]. I will be there between the hours of 20:00 and 22:00 every evening from Monday 13th - Friday 17th.
Come alone and sit in a window booth. I will make myself known as soon as I feel it’s safe to do so.
I repeat; come alone. If there’s any indication you have alerted the authorities, or discussed this with friends/family, the offer is void.
This offer is time sensitive. If you don’t visit the diner between those dates and times I will assume you are not interested. This will never be offered to you again in future.
Regards,
Anon
My hands trembled as months of progress began to unravel. I poured a shot of vodka and downed it, followed by one more to take the edge off. I was so close to calling Lori, her number ready to speed dial. I needed someone to talk sense into me, to tell me it was a hoax.
‘Don’t go through with it Jessie, it’s just some sicko taking advantage of your grief. Let’s go for cocktails!’
But I put my phone down and read the letter again. And again. I read it over and over, looking for something I might have missed despite the contents being clear.
◈
Monday came around. I pulled into the Marcy’s Diner car park just after 20:00, observing the patrons from the safety of my car. It looked pretty empty. Some tourists, a few trucker types. It was a convenient rest spot due to its location off the highway. No one screamed I have information about your beloved Jimmy Mack, like there was a physical description for that type of person.
I hung around for an hour or so before I chickened out and drove home. Rinse and repeat Tuesday and Wednesday evenings. On Thursday I didn’t even think about it. I parked up just before 20:00 and stepped out of my car, hesitating for the slightest moment before entering the chrome and candy stripe diner.
A few people observed me briefly before going back to their hot mugs and oversized burgers. As instructed I found a vacant window booth. They were all vacant. I chose the one furthest from the entrance. As I sat down I thought why the fuck did you think that was a good idea? My anxiety stopped me from switching seats regardless.
“Evening darlin’,” said a blond 40-something waitress wearing a blue gingham dress. She held a pot of coffee as she smiled down at me. “What can I get for you?”
“Oh, erm,” I was going to say nothing but realized that would be weird. “Coffee is good, thank you.”
She turned over a white mug that was on the table amongst novelty condiment bottles and laminated menus.
“Can I get you a slice of pie darlin’?” she said as she poured the coffee. “Cherry or chocolate-pecan.”
My stomach was in knots but I didn’t want to appear rude, so I opted for a slice of cherry pie. It arrived barely a minute later and I thanked her, then proceeded to tap my fingers on the table as I discreetly looked around the diner.
After an hour had passed I was three mugs of coffee down and had finished the pie, which was delicious. For a moment I’d forgotten my purpose for being there, beginning to relax a little. Then the door opened and a man walked in, giving me a quick glance as he headed to the counter. He wore a camo parka and what I’d call worker jeans, with a black baseball cap. He turned around after being handed a mug and I averted my eyes, looking out of the window. I could see his reflection getting closer to my table. When he stopped in my peripheral vision I turned, and he slipped into the seat opposite me.
“Jessie,” he said with a nod. “Pleased to see you inside the diner this evening.”
He had chiselled features and a little stubble. I put him in his early 40s. I cleared my throat.
“And what do I call you?”
He smiled. “You can call me Mike if it makes this easier for you.”
I shifted in my seat, trying to get comfortable. I folded my arms, then unfolded them, then put them on the table.
“Relax,” he said.
I let out a quick laugh. “That’s easy for you to say. I have no idea who you are. I don’t even know why I’m here, you gave no proof that you actually know anything about Jimmy.”
“I know everything,” he said deadpan. “And I’ll tell you if you want to hear it.”
I stared into his eyes until I felt mine glaze over, then cleared my throat again. “Let me guess; for a price?”
He shook his head. “I don’t want your money, Jessie.”
“Why now?” I snapped. “Do you know what these past 5 years have been like for me?” I felt tears coming on and he went to reach for my hand, but I recoiled. He pulled his hands away and looked apologetic.
“Unbearable, devastating, frustrating…”
“All the above!” I said as tears started to fall. “I couldn’t function at times. I stopped looking after myself. I abandoned my friends and family. It’s crazy how someone can do that to you.”
“Because you were in love,” he said.
“We were in love. We were the fucking Shutterstock image of love. And when that ends abruptly without explanation…”
“Everything alright darlin’?” the waitress interrupted, holding out a tissue. She glared at Mike. I took the tissue and nodded.
“Yes, thank you. I’m fine. Sorry, I’ll keep it down.”
“Don’t be sorry darlin’, you just let me know if you need anything, okay?”
“I will, thank you.”
She walked away and I wiped my eyes, feeling a little embarrassed.
“I can only apologize for how you’ve been feeling,” he said. “But I’m here to make it right. You could say I developed a conscience, or moral compass. I don’t know. I’m a changed man.”
I looked at him with confusion. “I don’t understand?”
“It’s easier if I show you,” he said. “But not here. You have to ask yourself if you trust me enough to go for a drive.”
“In your car?” I said. “Absolutely not!”
“Okay, how about if you drive?”
“To the middle of nowhere I bet?”
“Look Jessie,” he said, his eyes burning into me. “I’m not going to hurt you. I’m really trying here, but if you’d rather leave it I get it.”
Call me stupid or naive, but something in his eyes made him appear somewhat genuine. I took a crazy chance.
“No… I need to know what happened to him.”
Mike nodded then raised a hand. “Say, could I get a slice of pie to go?”
◈
As predicted we were driving further into the wilderness than I would have preferred. The passing cars were few and far between.
“How much further?” I asked. “I might need to stop for gas.”
“Not too far now,” said Mike. “If you don’t mind sharing, do you remember the last moments you spent with James?”
I sighed. “I do, but I can’t remember the last time anyone called him James outside of the media. He hated it. He’d been Jimmy since elementary school.”
“Sorry,” he said. “Tell me about that last day you spent with Jimmy.”
“It was an ordinary day. A Wednesday. We woke up, had breakfast. I went to work, Jimmy worked from home. He called me on my lunch break like usual, just to hear your voice he always said. God, we were insufferable.” I let out a laugh.
“Take the next left,” said Mike. “I’m listening.”
“So yeah. We had a little chat, then I went back to work. I got home and Jimmy had already started dinner. He was a much better cook than me. We drank wine, watched a movie.”
“What movie did you watch?”
“The Notebook,” I laughed. “For the umpteenth time. I know, I hate us too.”
“Keep driving straight,” said Mike. “It’s a few minutes away.”
“What is?” I asked.
“What happened after the movie?” he said.
“Nothing, we went to bed.”
“Did you make love?”
I briefly turned to him in disapproval. “Excuse me?”
“Did you fuck?” he said, unflinching.
I shook my head. “No, sorry to disappoint you. Now where the hell are you taking me?”
“It’s just up here,” he said. “So you went to bed and then you never saw him again?”
I took a deep breath and shook my head. “Jimmy had already gone when I woke up. No note, no text. It was strange but I didn’t think too much of it at the time. I sent him a text asking where he was. When half the day went by with no response I started to worry.”
“And the rest is history, as they say.”
I nodded as I fought back tears.
“We’re here,” said Mike.
I looked around. It was dark from what the headlights illuminated, I couldn't see anything but trees. “What’s here?”
“Just stop the car. It’s a short walk.”
I felt my heart race as my vulnerable situation became apparent. I really was in the middle of nowhere with a strange man, one who had withheld information about my missing fiancé for 5 years. I stared at him wide eyed.
He shrugged. “I’m not really sure what I can say to make you more comfortable?”
I slowly reached for my bag and pulled out a pocket pistol. Mike let out a surprised laugh.
“Maybe I don’t need to say anything?” he said.
“This makes me more comfortable,” I said.
He nodded. “Fair enough. Let’s go.”
◈
After walking for several minutes, feeling grateful that I’d opted for comfortable footwear that evening, we came to a cabin within the trees. The porch was lit.
‘Jessie; you know better than this girl’ I thought to myself, my hand clutching the pistol inside my bag.
“Why did it have to be a cabin in the woods?” I said, Mike a few feet in front of me.
“I like solitude,” he said. “I couldn’t think of anything worse than living in the city.”
We walked up the steps to the porch area. At one end there was a single chair with a blanket on it, and a small table with some beer bottles. At the other end I spotted some deep red patches on the floorboards. Mike noticed me looking.
“Don’t worry,” he said. “It’s deer blood. I’m pretty self sufficient out here.”
We entered the cabin and Mike turned on the lights. It was quite basic, not overly decorated. There were some framed pictures on the walls, a dinner table, and a living area with some chairs, a small television and a log burner.
“I’m kind of disappointed there’s no stag’s head mounted on the wall,” I said as I took in my surroundings.
Mike shrugged. “I don’t see the animals as a prize. It’s food, survival. There are a few skulls out back if you want to check them out?”
I shook my head. “I’m good.”
Mike put the slice of pie he’d got from Marcy’s on the kitchen counter.
“Water, beer?” He opened the fridge and pulled out a beer bottle.
“This isn’t a social visit,” I said. “And call me paranoid but that would make me very stupid."
He nodded. “You’re right, I hope you don’t mind if I have one though.” He screwed off the cap and took a swig. “Let’s sit.” He motioned to the living area and I followed him.
“You know it’s dangerous to leave your fire burning when you’re not home,” I said, feeling the warmth from the log burner as I took a seat on an armchair. I kept my bag by my side and my hand on the pistol.
“It gets cold in here,” he said, sitting on another chair. “I’ll take my chances.”
He spoke about his cabin for a while, the whole time I became increasingly more uncomfortable due to the fact that I’d needed the bathroom since leaving the diner.
“I’d like to get straight to the point,” I said. “But I really need to use the bathroom.”
“Sure,” he said, pointing to a door down a hallway. “Over there.”
The bathroom was clean enough, though I did my business without touching the toilet seat. Something that had become a habit when using strange or public bathrooms. As I washed up I heard a groaning noise that sounded like it came from another room in the cabin. My heart jolted.
“Mike?” I said, creeping out of the bathroom. I had my bag over my shoulder and my shaking hand gripped the pistol. “What was that sound?”
I peeked over to the living area and couldn’t see him. I started to panic.
“Mike?” I said loudly. “This isn’t cool. Where are you?”
I heard that muffled groaning noise again and jumped, turning on the spot. There was another door further down the hall. Against my better judgement I crept closer to it, flinching each time the groan was emitted. It got louder the closer I got to the door.
“Mike?” I said, my whole body trembling.
“Sorry Jessie,” I heard Mike say from behind, and suddenly a cloth covered my mouth. My bag slipped from my shoulder but I still had the gun in my hand which I lifted as I struggled. Mike brought his other arm around me and squeezed tight, pinning my arms to my body. I became lightheaded as I breathed in chemicals.
“Shush,” he said quietly in my ear. “Just let it be.”
As I blacked out I was screaming inside my head. ‘You stupid girl!’
◈
When I came to my vision was momentarily blurred, but as I focused I saw Mike opposite me. We were sitting at the dinner table.
“Welcome back,” he said. I attempted to stand but my right hand was cuffed to the table leg. I pulled on it several times until pain shot through my arm. “That’s solid oak. I mean, you might get free but probably at the expense of your wrist.”
“You bastard!” I screamed. “Let me go. Help! Help me please!”
“Calm down Jessie,” he said. “I’m sure I don’t need to tell you there’s no one out here to help you.”
I started to cry as I shook. “Oh God… What are you going to do to me? Are you going to…”
“I told you already, I’m not going to hurt you! Though that wasn’t completely true because I’m sure you have a splitting headache right now?”
He got up and retrieved a small bottle from a cupboard, then filled a glass from the faucet. He placed the glass in front of me as well as two pills from the bottle.
“Paracetamol. You’ll thank me later.”
“I’ll never thank you!” I screamed, then moaned as my head pounded. I reluctantly picked up the pills and swallowed them with water. “Why am I cuffed?”
As he spoke he walked across the cabin. “Because I believe what you’re about to hear would cause you to run. When I’m done you’re more than welcome to leave, you have my word.”
He returned with a MacBook and placed it on the table. It looked alien amongst the cabin interior. My surprised expression must have been clear.
“I’m not a Luddite,” he said. “I have WiFi and Netflix just like you city folks.”
“Great,” I said sarcastically. “But you really need to start talking.”
“I don’t think you’re in any position to give demands,” he said. “But very well. Here’s the first thing you’re not going to like hearing: I’ve been inside your apartment.”
My jaw dropped. “Wha… What?”
He opened the MacBook and tapped on the keyboard, then showed me the screen. There were several images of my apartment interior. I picked up the glass and took a swig of water, wishing it was something stronger. “Why were you in my apartment Mike?”
“Well, here’s the next thing: I’m a serial killer.”
I shifted back on the chair and pulled on the cuffs, starting to hyperventilate. “Oh God oh God oh God…”
“Calm down Jessie,” he said.
“Give me a fucking break,” I shouted. “Jesus Christ!” I clung onto the cuffs with my free hand and pulled hard, groaning. The table only moved ever so slightly but I felt like I’d run a marathon. I sat up and stared at Mike as I breathed heavily. “You killed Jimmy?”
“I target lovers,” he said. “I observe them for months before I take things further. When the time is right I abduct one. Which one I choose is more down to opportunity than anything else. Then I pose a question: Are you prepared to sacrifice yourself for the one you love? Make a choice; you or them.”
I covered my mouth with a trembling hand. “Oh Jimmy… You sacrificed yourself for me.”
Mike tapped on the keys some more. “I install secret cameras in the lovers’ homes when they’re out. Like I said, I observe them for months, and not just outside. I need to get a feel for their relationship before I intervene. It has to be true love or it just doesn’t feel right. And you only get to see the real deal when no one else is looking. Excessive PDAs are often a sign of insecurity, they mean nothing really.”
He turned the screen back to me and a video was playing. “I edited this just for you.”
It showed Jimmy and I sitting at our breakfast bar. In the corner of the screen was Mar 7th 2018, 07:54.
“Wait!” I said, my heart beating out of my chest. I paused the video. “I don’t think I want to see this.”
“You have to, Jessie. I’m sorry. You’re free to leave once it's over.”
I felt my heart through my chest. “Can I at least take you up on that drink?”
He got up and walked to the fridge, taking out a beer.
“Do you have anything stronger?” I asked.
He nodded and reached under the kitchen counter, then returned with a whisky bottle and two tumblers. He poured two measures and pushed one towards me, then sat back down.
“We’re all out of ice unfortunately.”
“Fuck the ice,” I said, downing it in one gulp. I closed my eyes as I felt my chest burn inside, then signalled for Mike to top me up. After a moment I hit play on the screen.
◈
Mar 7th 2018, 07:54
Jimmy and I eat breakfast. He picks up a strawberry and rubs it against my lips.
“Stop it,” I say, giggling as I slap his arm. “I have to leave shortly.”
“Come on Jess,” he says. “Open wide.” He puts the strawberry in my mouth then gently kisses my lips.
“To be continued,” I say, getting off the stool and grabbing my things.
“No fair!” he sulks.
“Have a good day babe,” I say, kissing his cheek.
“I love you, Jess,” he says, momentarily holding me against him.
“I love you more,” I say, pulling away to run to the door. “See you this evening.”
09:11
Jimmy comes out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around him, then goes to the bedroom.
10:36
Jimmy sits at the table on his laptop and takes a few work related calls.
12:05
Jimmy takes another call. “Hey you. Yeah. No, she won’t be back until like 7 at the earliest.”
I took another sip of whisky and briefly met Mike’s eyes as he watched me. I held the glass close to my chest, my knuckles white.
Jimmy continued. “Absolutely, I’d love to see you… Great, see ya soon.”
12:48
The buzzer rings and Jimmy uses the intercom. “It’s open.”
I downed the whisky and pushed the glass towards Mike. He leaned over and poured another measure.
Jimmy opens the door and in comes my best friend Lori. She embraces him.
13:09
They sit on the couch together.
“Shit, I’ve got to call Jess,” says Jimmy. “It’s our thing.”
“Seriously?” says Lori.
“Yep, every lunch break without fail. She’ll get paranoid if I don’t.”
Fucking asshole. It was never something I asked for or insisted on. Whatever makes him feel better.
He makes the call and puts a finger against his lips. In the meantime Lori unzips his fly and feels inside.
“Hey baby, how’s your day going? Ah, that’s awesome! Yeah, it’s been a productive morning. I’m gonna heat up some soup, what are you having?”
He puts his other hand behind Lori’s head and pushes it into his lap. His head slowly tilts back.
“That sounds amazing. Okay, well I just wanted to hear your voice baby. And you, can’t wait to see you later. Love you too. Bye.”
16:32
They come out of the bedroom and Lori puts on her shoes. Jimmy puts his arms around her from behind and nuzzles her neck.
“Do you have to leave already?” he says.
“What if she comes home?” says Lori.
“I promise you she won’t be home for a while. Come on.”
She turns and slaps his chest. “You’re a bad boy, Jimmy Mack.” They kiss.
17:43
They chop vegetables in the kitchen.
“I wish we were cooking for us,” says Jimmy.
“Me too,” says Lori. “We really should tell her soon. It’s gone on long enough.”
Tears stream as I finish my third whisky.
He nods. “I know. I keep trying. I already know how tonight will go. We’ll eat dinner and then she’ll want to watch some shit like The Notebook.”
Lori laughs. “I feel so bad for you.”
“She’s such a hopeless romantic,” he says.
“Hopeless being the operative word,” laughs Lori.
“Me-ow!” he laughs.
Mar 8th 2018, 01:22
The door to our apartment opens and in comes a tall figure dressed in black. They slowly open our bedroom door and creep inside. After a few minutes Jimmy leaves the room in a t-shirt and boxers, his hands up as he’s followed by the figure at gunpoint. They leave the apartment.
◈
I sat in silence staring at the screen.
“I’m sorry for what you’ve been through Jessie,” said Mike. “But as you can see he didn’t deserve your pain and suffering.”
I put the glass on the table and wiped the tears from my face. “Maybe not. But he didn’t deserve to die.”
“Would you say the same if you knew he chose you?”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Well, like I said. I take one of the lovers and give them a choice. I’d never experienced something like this, having only observed genuine love. It threw me. He was a lying piece of shit but I still posed the question.”
Mike found another video and played it.
Jimmy is sitting on a chair in a dark room under a hanging light, his arms tied behind his back. He struggles to free himself.
“James Mack,” says Mike offscreen.
“Who are you?” screams Jimmy. “I’ll fucking kill you when I get free!”
“How much do you love Jessie?”
“What?”
“Would you die for her?”
“What the fuck are you talking about?” Jimmy shouts.
“Would you die for her?” Mike roars, coming into shot and putting his forehead against Jimmy’s. He holds a gun at his side.
Jimmy recoils. “I… I…”
“It’s you or her James!” Mike cocks the gun and holds it against Jimmy’s head. “Make your decision.”
“Her!” Jimmy cries. “Take Jessie! You’ll be doing me a fucking favor you psycho!”
Mike stopped the video as I covered my mouth. “How does that make you feel Jessie?”
I shook my head. “I’d like to see what your response would be if someone held a gun to your head.”
He nodded. “Fair point. But just so you know, I’ve targeted 5 couples so far and they all chose to sacrifice themselves.”
“It doesn’t matter,” I said. “I hate him for this but he still didn’t deserve to die.”
Mike came over and took a key out of his pocket, then released the cuff around my wrist. I gripped it with my other hand and held it against my chest.
“Oh, he’s not dead Jessie,” said Mike, walking to the kitchen counter. He picked up the box containing the pie.
“What?”
He walked across the room down the hall, then stopped at the door at the end.
“You’re free to go Jessie,” he said. “Or you can come say hi.”
He pushed open the door then disappeared. I got up and frantically looked around the cabin. I saw my bag sitting on a coffee table and rummaged inside. My gun, my keys, my phone were all there. I ran to the main door and breathed in the cool night air, then hesitated. I looked over my shoulder.
You stupid girl I repeated in my head over and over as I approached the door down the hall. There was a staircase leading down into a dimly lit basement. I could hear Mike’s voice and some groans as I slowly began to descend, my body trembling. There was a vile smell that got worse with every step. It made me retch.
When I got to the bottom I saw Mike standing over the figure of a pale man that sat with his back to me. He was wearing rags, and the skin I could see was dirty and covered in sores. His skin was impossibly stretched over visible bones. He was eating noisily as he groaned.
“Is that good James?” asked Mike, and I saw the figure nod enthusiastically. The back of his head revealed long thinning hair with bald patches.
Mike looked over his shoulder and smiled when he met my eye. “Oh my, James. You’ll never guess who’s come to visit?”
The figure looked up inquisitively, then turned his head in my direction.
I could see it in his eyes. His handsome features had been buried under a pale, gaunt complexion. But I could tell it was Jimmy by his eyes. It took him a few seconds to acknowledge who he was looking at but suddenly his eyes widened, the thin skin of his forehead flaking as it wrinkled. He had pie smeared across his mouth. He had some teeth missing and the ones I could see looked jagged and broken.
“Jessie?” he said, in a voice that wasn’t quite the same. It was weathered, like that of a senior citizen with a bad smoking habit.
My lips trembled as I nodded. “It’s me Jimmy.”
He suddenly stood and lunged towards me, his hands outstretched. I flinched but he was held back by shackles around his ankles.
“Jessie!” he groaned. My heart couldn’t take it, feeling like it was going to explode. I fell to my knees as the 5 year mystery was solved in the most horrifying way.
“Isn’t it nice of Jessie to stop by?” said Mike. “Even after the way you treated her.”
Jimmy became restless, pulling on the shackles. He kept groaning like he was in pain.
“How could you do this to him?” I cried. “Even a rabid beast doesn’t deserve this!”
Mike shrugged. “I guess I felt bad for you. I’d never really considered the feelings of anyone else until I saw just how much you loved this man. And when I witnessed his betrayal day after day I just grew to hate him more. I knew a bullet to the brain wasn’t enough for this piece of shit.”
Mike turned to Jimmy and started rubbing his back. “But you know, over the years this piece of shit has grown on me. We’re like family now, aren’t we James?”
“No!” Jimmy screamed, making me fall back. “No no no!”
He buried his face in Mike’s neck, making him scream in pain. Dark blood cascaded down Mike’s shirt. Considering Jimmy was wasted away to nothing, Mike's attempts at freeing himself were useless. He fell to the floor and pushed himself against the wall, holding the gaping wound on his neck.
“James… Don’t…” he managed before Jimmy pounced. It sounded like a wild animal devouring its prey. I covered my ears as I watched in horror, my body refusing to let me look away.
Before long Mike was silent and still, his eyes remained open as he slouched against the wall. Jimmy turned to look at me, at first appearing shy or embarrassed. His face and chest was covered in Mike’s blood. He licked his lips and attempted to wipe it away with the back of his skeletal arm.
Eventually he started to crawl towards me, only stopping when the shackles wouldn’t allow him to get any closer. He groaned, but it wasn’t in anger. His eyes became glassy and he started to cry.
“Jessie,” he said. “I’m sorry.”
My hands trembled as I reached out to him, scared beyond belief but my heart was breaking all over again. I was in two minds, but eventually my hand met his and I felt his bony fingers between mine.
“Oh Jimmy,” I said breathlessly. “I forgive you.”
We held hands for a moment before I stood up. “I’m calling for help.” I made my way to the stairs.
“No!” Jimmy shouted. His eyes pleaded with me. “No Jessie. Please.”
It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do, but I think most people would have done the same from a place of love.
Jimmy Mack is never coming back.
dd
DB

He has tied for the second-most handle (7. 6%) on the second-most tickets (6%). Unlike Fowler he’s in the field at Augusta. Ben Griffin (+4500) and Aaron Rai (+5000) are also in the sweet spot with decent tee-to-green games going on this year. Fowler’s strong ball-striking should serve him well playing in the tricky Texas wind. Another player generating a lot of action is Si Woo Kim (+1800 third-best odds). (And as you’ll see later in this column apart from Jordan Spieth a few years ago longshots have had some success at the Valero Texas Open. )(Photo: Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Sports)Morikawa is still looking for his first win since the 2021 Open. (Photo: Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Sports)Like Rahm Max Homa is a multiple-time winner already this season. (Photo: Katie Goodale-Augusta Chronicle/USA TODAY Sports)Scheffler is once again entering Masters week on a heater. It’s a combination of SG: Off the Tee and SG: Approach. Hayden Buckley (+9000) is 8-under par from his 13 attempts outside 275 yards is 57th Tee-To-Green and ranks fourth on TOUR Off-the-Tee. The last seven winners all ranked inside the top 12 of Stroked Gained: Tee-to-Green. Before we get to longer shots… Cam Davis (+4000) intrigues me for many reasons. It doesnt matter what tour they’re playing on. “So for us at least it’s going to be business as usual. Apparently thinking that the field was playing preferred lies (lift clean and place) throughout the golf course Davis picked up her ball in the rough and replaced it. It’s the Valero Texas Open and the Oaks Course at TPC San Antonio the host for this event since 2010 and the final tournament before the Masters. "Im going to sign up with (PGA players) Jason Day and Cam Young in the par-3. SG:BS isn’t an official PGA Tour stat however many golf databases use it. - Alpha AI

What’s a scene in Psych that if you analyze too much it completely falls apart?

The Hermès Birkin bag was an instant commercial success, however, Hermès had an interesting marketing tactic that they are now notorious for using. Hermès would artificially decrease the number of Birkin bags that a given store could buy. When store managers would go to Podium, the twice-yearly international Hermès buying extravaganza in Paris, they would have a select number of Birkins they could buy for their stores depending on their client base and supply. This created the appearance of scarcity that Hermès still implements. The number of Hermès Birkin bags currently in retail and resale circulation is unfathomable. Hermès does not report the production numbers to the public so there is not much insight into the secretive process. In 2014, it was reported by The Economist that an estimated 70,000 Birkin bags were created that year for global supply.
In the 1990s and early 2000s, rumors spread of a “Birkin Waitlist”, or a list at each boutique that prioritized clients in order of their requesting for a Birkin bag. The intention of the list was for clients to believe that when their name was next, they would receive the opportunity to purchase the must-have bag. Reports for many years have been that the store associates, when asked about the availability of the Birkin bag, would have one of two responses: 1) We do not have a Birkin in stock, or 2) Please put your name on this waitlist and we will call you when one becomes available. This waitlist was rumored to be anything from several months to three years long or more, which is quite the to-do surrounding any handbag or designer.
However, the waitlist rumors began to fall apart when clients began to share and talk to one another about their Birkin buying experiences on various handbag forums and platforms. Buyers began to strategize how to attain one for themselves based on experienced sellers’ know-how. Reports came in about having to buy a certain quantity of non-leather goods in order to qualify, having to build rapport with sales associates at a specific boutique to qualify, and even to dress in a “deserving” outfit in order to get your hands on a Birkin bag. All of these rumors went up in smoke when clients began reporting that they simply walked in one day and got offered one upfront, no purchasing or previous Hermès experience under their belt. How is this possible when there is more than likely a long waitlist at these stores? It seems likely that the Birkin waitlist was either purely fictional or perhaps a subtle technique that stores used to drum up anticipation and an aura of exclusivity. So, what’s the best strategy to get your hands on one? Ask nicely and you may get lucky!

I wanna plan a guitar practice routine, but I don't really know what exercises to include and in what order to work on each part (picking and fretting hands, etc). In fact, I don't really know what parts apart from both hands I should work on. Any tips? I would also like to learn theory and train my ear to recognize notes and intervals. I want the routine to be about an hour and mb have like a couple of different routines to pick from depending on the day.. Thanks🙏

Hello everyone,
Almost two months ago, my ex of 5 years dumped me. We’ve broken up before around the 3 year mark and we got back together within a month. This time it’s real. I’ve been struggling, especially at the start of things. But slowly it’s been getting better. Coach lee’s videos have been helping me tremendously and I’ve been hanging on to hope that one day she will reach out to me. For those that take the time to read this I really appreciate it.
I begged her at the start of the breakup to take me back, which obviously didn’t work. Then I started NC for roughly a month. She lived with me about 3 years (the other two were long distance) so a couple of weeks ago she had to come to my house to get the rest of her things. We talked a bit before she left and I couldn’t help myself but I poured my heart out. There was crying on both sides, mostly me. What also confuses me is that she packed her bag with a picture of us (she was hesitant putting it in the bag, out, in the bag, out). I feel like she took it for memories but also she took it just to make me feel better. For shits and giggles, I also snuck a lot of pictures, poems, etc in her bags that she didn’t know about. During our talk, it struck me odd because she talked about taking each other off social media. Basically saying it would make her mad if she saw something of me and another girl or if I saw something on her social media. And that her friends were so shocked to see her still having me added on everything. I actually took her off of IG and Facebook a couple of weeks ago. She still follows me on Instagram but I don’t follow her. And we have each other added on Snapchat.
She’s moved into an apartment downtown and signed a yearly lease. I know I’m in this for the long haul most likely. But I still have some questions about everything that hopefully some can answer: 1) she still has some stuff of mine that I need back. While this isn’t urgent I do want them back eventually. I just want to continue NC. When do I reach out for this? 2) Overall, let’s say it’s been 8 months of NC. When do I start actually making effort to contact her? 3)I downloaded hinge and tinder and have met some girls. I thought about putting stuff on my Snapchat stories, etc. is it a good idea? For example, I’m talking to another girl who has a dog. I thought about posting a picture of our dogs on a Snapchat story to add to that “mystery”.
We both went together to a golden retriever breeder to get my dog (he’s my dog but she went with me. And she loves him too; I feel like I have that going for me). She actually cried when she hugged him and said by before she left.
Any opinions would be appreciated. I know it’s going to take her to reach out to me. To me, I feel like with everything it looks like she’s just out to test the waters. We have SUCH a big history together dating back to 15 years ago. Also, we ended everything on a friendly note. She basically said we aren’t good for each other and our communication is off. She needs someone to give her words of affirmation. I certainly could have been a much better man to her. I truly could have. But it may be too late to show her.. it’s only been about two weeks of NC since the last time I saw her

I’m here tonight, in my hotel bed in Milan, thinking of you tonight. I can see the lights of the city outside my window. They’re so strange to me, so unfamiliar and cold. I miss you so much, but I’m letting go of you just a little bit more tonight again. Somewhere deep down inside I still have a very teeny tiny hope we might be able to make it work between us, but realistically I know there’s no hope. And universe is keeping us apart too. So I know it’s the best for now. I’m not fighting. I’m not chasing. I’m just sad, alone and hurting. I miss you. I love you.

A couple of weeks ago I went and talked to my apartment to break my lease and they told me it’s 2 months rent to break it and that I would need to be out 30 days after I submitted the termination.
So today I went to submit the termination and they told me I owe that 2 months rent plus all of the rent for the 30 days that I can Continue to occupy. Which essentially means to me it was 3 months rent to terminate the rent. Is this normal and allowed ?
I just feel duped because I went in weeks ago to know the price and now it’s whole extra rent amount on top of it I felt they should have mentioned if it’s the case

Hey fellow Redditors. I hope that my story is here in the correct sub. I'm totally stumped and would really appreciate your input. I am currently living with another person (let's call him Mark) in a shared apartment. Mark is 30 and working, I'm currently a student. Since I've been living here (about 1 year), Mark and I have actually been pretty close, often sat together in the evenings or went out together, etc. I thought things were going really well. For 2 months the relationship has been getting worse and worse (which I won't go into detail about now because that would go beyond the scope, let's just say his behavior towards me became more and more weird) and after the recent events it has reached its absolute peak. It should also be said about me that I suffer from a chronic illness and therefore purchase medical cannabis. Mark knew about it. When I was away with friends for the weekend a week ago, I allowed my girlfriend to use my room and sleep at my place because she comes from another city and visited me and friends here. On the first evening when she was here, our neighbor was having a party in the flat above us and suddenly around 1 am Mark was in my room, woke my girlfriend up and said something like "I allowed the others from the party to also use our toilet and wanted to make sure that no one got lost into your room". I think that was already fucked up and got me suspicious at the time.. he knew I wasn't there for the weekend, he didn't knock and I was afraid he had another reason for going into my room. (Unfortunately there is no key for my room, so I cannot lock it.)
Now I was on vacation with my girlfriend for a few days and before I left I took pictures of my room + drawer with my weed + weighed the weed. When we came back, I immediately noticed someone must have been in my room and weed is also missing. Since I've been prescribed quite a lot and it's supposed to last a long time, I sometimes have a lot in the room but I never thought that Mark would steal from me.. who does something like that anyway? Since I was probably just too naive beforehand, I had never weighed my weed, so I have to assume that this wasn't the first time this had happened. Well, now I went to the police and I was only told that he has probably already consumed the weed he stole and that there is not much that can be done ... and that I may still have to face some consequences myself, because the dear Mr. officer could imagine that I stored the weed improperly. My doctor never told me anything in this direction, so I was super insecure and refrained from reporting it. Of course I didn't want to end up shooting myself in the foot and thought nothing can be done about my roommate. When I asked him about the situation, he simply lied to me ("we've known each other for so long, I would never do something like that - and that evening I really just wanted to make sure that nobody was in your room") I know that Mark also has other drugs that he uses quite regularly (especially amphetamines and coke).. to be honest, I considered going to the police with this information to still get his ass. But I am not sure.
I've already canceled my rental contract and am currently looking for a new apartment, but it's difficult to find something and I'm still paying for 3 months. Even if I did find something, paying double the rent is too expensive
Do you have any advice?

So far, I've been doing 100 pushups a day for the past 4 weeks. I want to take it more seriously to get a better body.
Due to social anxiety, I'm not willing to go to a gym with other people in it. But I'm ready to start working out in the gym at my apartment complex. After I get used to it and feel more confident, I'll go into the big boy gym and try other workouts (I actually already have a membership).
My gym only has dumbbells and a bench press.
The question: What specific workouts should I do with only dumbbells and a bench press?
I'd like to spend 30 minutes to 1 hour per session, but open to recommendations regarding the time spent.
I'm male, 5'11, and 165 lbs.
Any other general tips are welcome and appreciated 🙏

At my lowest point I was still too ashamed to admit that I had hit the wall, hard. I took out all my vacation days just to keep up appearances, but the reality was that I couldn’t get out of bed anymore. I couldn’t even brush my teeth, shower or cook anything. I was an absolute wreck. For three weeks I just stayed in bed, I thought about ending it all more than once, I felt drained yet so full of pain. At one point I could swear that even the hair on my head hurt. I had worked myself sick to the core. I was a magical creature, always at four different places at once - caring for my patients, for my drug addicted sister, my worried and sad parents, or being there for whatever my friends needed me for. It was a dark moment when I realized that no one had showed up to check on me after two weeks of radio silence. I felt so alone and abandoned. The third week my mother luckily showed up. She ended up brushing and untangling my hair for hours, cleaned my apartment, showered me and fed me soup. I cried like a baby that day. I fell asleep next to her on my bed that night.
I wish I could say that things changed quickly after that. I managed to get out of bed eventually because bills and mortgage, but I had no desire to see anyone. I felt real empty for a long time. I went from one extreme to another. I wanted to be left alone. I froze up anytime I received a message and dreaded going to the store in case I’d run into someone. I actually didn’t want the pandemic to end because I liked that everyone was stuck at home and the world had slowed down. Eventually I found some kind of inner peace. I discovered some hobbies I enjoyed and I was fine with being alone.
Fast forward to today.
Last week I got engaged to the most amazing guy. I met him when I wasn’t looking for someone, in fact, I met him while actively trying to avoid making small talk with someone else. I’ve made some new friends, I’ve worked on my relationship with my parents and I’ve made huge progress in setting boundaries. I’ve accepted that I can’t save or even help my sister until she decides to get clean on her own. That’s mostly thanks to therapy. I still like my alone time and hobbies but I’ve also started going out again. At first it was mostly to be apart of my boyfriends hobbies since he’s a social butterfly, but lately I’ve found myself initiating drinks with friends and going to gigs. I’ve found a balance that works. I still have shit days like everyone else, but at the core my soul is light and optimistic.
My point is that I was convinced that my life was over, like I truly felt done with everything. I wanted out. It took a while before I actively reached out for help. I was stuck in limbo for a long time. But change is possible. If I could manage to find balance after feeling what I felt, so can you. Don’t surrender to those dark feelings.